Save the Queen
by sissyHIYAH
Summary: Quistis and Seifer have a little encounter in the forest, make a bet, get covered in blood and just have a marvelous day. Also included: The reason that Quistis' whip is called 'Save the Queen'


Late morning sunshine filtered through the velvet canopy of the Grandidi Forest, scattered and broken by the thick leafy layers of oak and sycamore. As the foolhardy golden rays tried to venture deeper into the wooded glens, the forest closed greedy fingers around those precious streams of light, denying them any hope of escape. By the time the sunlight reached the forest floor, bright amber and shimmering yellow were subdued and throttled, mere shadows of their former solar glory. Water was plentiful and creeks and streams happily gurgled and sighed, greeting one another in that strange murmuring language that men have long since forgotten.

Whereas the mighty oaks received the admiration of the poets and the graceful willows were praised by bards, down below in the tangled thorny underbrush, a patch of spongy black loam held the very close attention of one miserable girl. Quistis Trepe held one hand to her ribs and retched into the leaf mould, laughing even as she choked on her own bile.

She beat it.

She won.

Polluted grit and mud were ground into the blisters on her hands and she dropped her chain whip to the forest floor, well aware that she was fucked if another of those creatures appeared. The whip was almost useless in such a densely forested area, but it was comforting to have the worn leather handle against her palm. Or it would have been comforting if the last blast of magic hadn't ripped the skin off her hands and left her dripping crimson onto the suddenly thirsty earth. Her eyebrows contracted slightly when she saw a thin trail of pink lacing the green puddle of her own fluids. If she could find her bag, then she would be okay. A potion would stop the hemorrhaging long enough to make it back to camp, then she could radio for a medic.

If she could find her bag…oh shit. The waterproof canvas bag was torn in the battle and it's contents flung amongst the fallen leaves and brightly colored fungus of the forest floor. Quistis spat a mouthful of vomit, then began pawing and searching through leaf litter to find her scattered supplies. A dull gleam caught her eye and she stumbled to the aluminum container that held her last potion. Shit. It had been crushed in the jaws of the beast and the precious life-saving fluid was now lost.

Her abdominal muscles tightened and flexed as another wave of nausea forced her to her knees. Blood foamed from her mouth and she whimpered, but the stink of ferrous stomach fluids met her nostrils and she began heaving anew. The internal injuries were much worse than she thought. There was too much blood and she had already used all of her medical supplies during the battle.

Stupid.

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"_I bet you'll piss your pants before you get a single tentacle." _

Quistis met the challenging gaze of her partner over the fire. His eyes burned with an intensity that made the orange flames between them seem almost cold by comparison. _"What do you want to bet that I can get two?"_

"_Hmm…let me think." _He added more wood and teased the flames higher, sitting next to Quistis when he finished. The cool night air was a comforting balm to his sore muscles, and he didn't really want to build up the fire anymore, but she looked like she was getting a chill. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to be just a _little _closer. She wasn't used to anybody getting close to her and his proximity was already making her blush. Perfect. _"How about…after we pass this exam and they give us our SeeD scores, you dance with me at the graduation ball?"_

The blush deepened, though he pretended that he didn't see it. It amazed him that Quistis Trepe could actually act like a regular girl sometimes instead of the child prodigy. _"A dance? Are you serious, Seifer?" _He almost laughed at himself when he realized that he was holding his breath, hoping to hear her stutter or falter. He should have known better.

"_Very serious…but you can't wear that SeeD uniform. I hate those damned things."_

"_Oh really?" _

Seifer slid even closer, stopping when he could feel the heat from her body through her clothes. His thigh pressed against hers and he could feel the play of the muscles underneath the fabric of her pants. She didn't fidget, not like the other girls, but she did hold very, very still when he reached across her lap to pick a slim branch from the ground. It had been a long hike and they were both dirty and sweaty, but her hair still held the heavy summertime scent of wisteria. He was surprised when she didn't punch him for lingering a second longer than necessary to get another fire poker.

"_And just what would you have me wear?"_

A gentleman would have let this slide, but Seifer was no gentleman. And she was starting to make him uncomfortable. Very pleasantly uncomfortable. _"Nothing… except those glasses." _

Quistis snatched the twig from his hands and hit him in the knee, smiling when he cursed. _"You're a real bastard, you know." _

Seifer leaned back on his palms and looked up at the sky. Rather, he tried to look at the sky, but he kept glancing over to the pissed-off blonde next to him. _"Oh I know, alright, but I'm the most glorious bastard this world will ever see." _

"_Humph. We've not settled on MY terms yet."_

A rare squeak escaped her lips when Seifer snaked his arm around her waist. _"It won't take a bet to get me naked for you, Trepe. It HAS been a hot day, now that I think about it, and we won't meet the other members of our squad until tomorrow…" _He felt her spine stiffen when he moved his hand to her neck and started playing with the tiny hairs that were too short to be pulled up into her sensible ponytail. By the time he succeeded in snapping the elastic band and slowly sliding his hand into her thick hair, she was halfway considering just how much trouble she was willing to allow herself to…

Quistis shook off his arm and stood to go back to her tent. That _felt _too good to actually _be _good; or maybe it would be _very_ good, and that was a whole different problem altogether. Besides…it was Seifer Almasy and they were surrounded by bloodthirsty creatures and (possibly) the rest of their squad. _"Thanks to YOU getting us lost out here in the woods."_

"_Hey! I TOLD you to walk behind me instead of twisting right in front of me. I can't help it if you have such a nice ass. It sure as hell beats looking at some map."_

Quistis tore her boots off before crawling in her tent and zipping up the entrance. She could still see Seifer staring at her through the filmy insect screen. _"And now we'll undoubtedly be denied valuable points on our final assessment because of your substandard navigational proficiency."_

"_Don't worry about it. Your grades have fucked the curve for two years now. The only way you can fail this thing is if you get that pretty blonde head lopped off or tossed in prison. So ease up, Miss Perfect."_

"_Stop calling me that."_

"_What would you have me call you? Goddess, duchess? Queen, maybe? It would have to be something bossy as hell to suit you, you know."_

"_God, just call me when it's time to leave. I'm ready to finish this exam and get back to Garden."_

"_Fine!"_

"_Great!"_

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Stupid. She had let him get to her before she went to her tent, so she dwelled on him all night. After waking well before Seifer that morning, she decided that she just _had_ to prove him wrong. She meant to make him worry, if not about her, then at least about his SeeD score, but she hadn't really expected to come upon a marlboro. The marlboro was a juvenile, but it was still more than a match for her. Entire groups of experienced SeeD had been killed by the giant poisonous plants and she was just one naïve fourteen year-old girl with a fancy whip that kept tangling in the branches overhead.

She didn't even have time to scream for help before she had been blasted by the plant's noxious vapor defenses. Blinded and vomiting, eyes burning and stomach churning, she tried to hammer the fanged plant with fire spells, but she could smell the burned area around her when it smoldered from her attacks. Had the marlboro been an older specimen, it would have surely killed her, spraying her again and again with it's lethal chemical cocktail, but this one was practically a sapling. Though it was young, it still had the fabled tentacles that could tear a man in two with one well-placed swipe.

It moved closer to Quistis and began feeling for her with it's tentacles. Their eyesight was notoriously poor, but so was hers. Though she was still blinded by the gas, she could feel the questing tendrils gently touch her before an attack, so she was able to miss most of the heavier blows.

Aware that she was just a few feet from the core of the beast, she knew that at such a close range her fire spells were absolutely devastating. She listened for the wet, smacking sounds of it's gaping mouth and sent fire spell after fire spell towards those terrifying sounds. Sap crackled and bubbled as the marlboro's main body erupted in flames. The tentacles twitched and writhed for a few minutes after the demise of the creature, throwing Quistis to the ground. Had the momentum not been stalled by that solid trunk it would have divided her body into two unequal portions, killing her quickly instead of this…

Now her life was bleeding out of her in violent gastric bursts and all she could think about was how gross it was to get vomit in her hair. She didn't even realize that she was crying until she tasted salt water on her lips. Tears slid down her cheeks and she slumped down to her knees and elbows, silently praying that her body was found before it was gnawed beyond recognition by scavenging animals.

She smiled when she heard hurried footsteps behind her. Good. They'd be able to get her cadaver to Garden in one piece…

Seifer dropped to his knees and held her down with his knee, roughly shoving a hypodermic needle from his kit into her arm. The elixir worked fast. Quistis started to violently shake as the tonic coursed through her veins and healed the damage caused by the marlboro. Seifer gently put his arm around her waist and held her hair back as she continued to heave and gasp, her body still trying to rid itself of the toxins from the gas. Were it not for puking up every single organ in her abdominal cavity, she could have kissed him for keeping her hair out of her face.

Looking at the charred remains of the battle, Seifer marveled that she was still alive. It was a young one, but the damned thing was still fucking enormous. "Goddamnit, Quistis. A marlboro? How the fuck did you kill that bastard by yourself?"

Quistis leaned into him when he pulled her to his chest, closing her eyes when she heard him mutter, "You stupid bitch. You stupid, stupid, bitch…" She had probably ruined both of their chances at making SeeD.

Coughing, she whispered, "I-I'm sorry, Seifer."

"Hell, if you didn't want to dance with me, that's fine. But you sure as hell didn't have to do something like…"

"No, I mean…the exam. We'll have to re-take the exam next…"

"Shut the hell up, Trepe."

"But…"

"I'm not fucking worried about some dumb-ass test."

Quistis smiled and rested her head against his shoulder. To be such a dick, there were times when he could be a perfect gentle…

"I'm more worried that I lost that bet. I think that big bastard has four tentacles, so you won."

"Seifer, if I could punch you right now, I would."

Laughing, he kissed the top of her head and let her rest for a few minutes. She was covered in blood and vomit and her hair now reeked of sulfur and bile instead of sweet wisteria, but it was pleasant to have stubborn Quistis rely on him for protection. "You know, you never did tell me what I have to do now that you've won."

Quistis shifted her weight so she could lean into him a bit more. It felt like she had a few cracked ribs and she hurt like hell. "Just get me out of here and I'll call it even, Seifer."

Seifer nodded and looked back at the leathery tendrils coiled around the corpse of the marlboro. He idly stroked her blood-soaked hair as he considered a way to honor his part of the bet. "Hmm…Hey Queen! Are you going to keep using that old whip of yours once you make SeeD?"

"Yeah…I am. Why?"

"I may need to borrow it for a few days once we get back to Garden."

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Note: Yeah, I made Seifer much sweeter than I normally do, but I wanted to write this before I forgot about it. I just thought it would be fun to play with Q and S before all the sorceress shit and EmoTwat Squall . Plus I wanted to do a fic about Q's ultimate weapon. I just think that the name _Save the Queen_ sounds like something Seifer would create…you know, since he's all into the knight thing.


End file.
